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San Diego may be riding a precipitation see-saw that’s swinging downward. After a wet year that followed an extremely dry one, rainfall could be scarce again during the 2019-20 rainfall season. It has been so far. Or, the atmospheric patterns that led to a wet and reservoir-renewing winter in California last year could return. There’s a “warm blob” in the Northern Pacific to consider, plus the influence of sea-surface temperatures along the equator. Or perhaps some unseen or poorly understood force will take charge and drive us into a wet — or dry — winter.

In north San Diego County, a testament to the San Diego County Water Authority’s proactive asset management program as Pipeline 4, one of the San Diego region’s major water pipelines, is back in regular service after a leak was repaired. Pipeline 4 resumed normal operations November 10 after nearly two months of modified operation. The leaky section was near Camino Del Rey in Bonsall, in an area with no adjacent homes or businesses.

Last winter was a bountiful one in terms of water supply for California, but it’s still too early to tell whether 2020 will be as generous. The 2018-19 winter was one for the record books, with above-average precipitation. Snow continued to fall in late-spring, with several inches or more in the Sierra Nevada and the Southern California mountains. Ski seasons were extended into May and June, delighting skiers and resort operators.

Since the days of the Kumeyaay, survival in San Diego has depended on the availability of water. While blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, the fact remains we must rely upon outside sources to meet our water needs. The level of this dependency, however, is more a matter of resolve rather than circumstance. In the late 1990s, this situation reached a critical point when San Diego County found itself importing more than 90 percent of our water, and our primary supplier, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) in Los Angeles, was taking action that could reduce our water allocation by up to 50 percent.